It is no surprise to anyone reading here that retention is a BIG problem right now for the National Guard.  And it certainly doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the prolonged and frequent deployments have not helped and will certainly continue to reduce the numbers of  Guardsmen.  Most current marketing materials advertise the positions in the Guard for as “citizen soldiers.”  Unfortunately, up to 18 months away from their families - with worse in sight - is leaving many of the current force to question when, exactly, they get to be normal citizens, not under the threat of an imminent deployment.  The comment that I am hearing most often now among National Guard families is “If we wanted to be full-time Army, we would have signed up for Active Duty!”

(On a side note, the time that the National Guard and Reserves spend away from their families during a given deployment is actually LONGER than that of an Active Duty soldier.  This is due to the time - usually around 3 months - that is spent training in the US - away from home - prior to a deployment and the time after a soldier's return that is, again spent away from home, to demobilize after return to the US.  Certainly the Active Duty soldiers spend a great deal of time away from their families in between deployments doing field training exercizes, but they are usually able to remain with their families right up until they deploy and immediately upon return home because the other activities are usually done at their home base.)

In any case, the Army is hoping a new incentive program might help to fill some of the dwindling ranks of the National Guard.  They are hoping to have Congress authorize a $15,000 bonus for Active Duty Soldiers who enlist in the National Guard at the end of their current contract.  Currently, there is a $50 bonus for doing so. 

Some observations on the program - I believe it will, like the other incentive programs, be limited to enlisted soldiers only.  However, since many of these soldiers would otherwise have an IRR committment and might be called to duty anyway, it might be a way to earn a large bonus for service that they might be called to do anyway.  (I am not sure exactly what impact this could have on later IRR status - presumably there might be some period required in the IRR after the active portion of the National Guard committment.)  Such a program might even save the Guard some money in time and training, since it will bring skilled and experienced people into the open positions.  This is also a great way to fill the ranks with soldiers and families who are used to deployments and full-time military life already, which is fast becoming the predominant theme of the National Guard these days.